Injuries and the abundance of events slated over the past couple weeks and coming months have left us with a preliminary card at UFC 135 that is two fights shy of the usual seven fight line-up.

Despite the shrinking number of fights, the early action at UFC 135 this weekend still promise to deliver some excitement.

James Te Huna (12-5) vs. Ricardo Romero (11-2)

This light heavyweight pairing features two guys with some potential who haven’t been able to put things together consistently in the UFC.

Te Huna is a big New Zealander with solid wrestling, good hands and a 1-1 record in the UFC. He lost to rising star Alexander Gustafsson last time out at UFC 127, but losing to “The Mauler” isn’t something to hang your head about. He dominated Igor Pokrajac in his first UFC appearance (UFC 110) and gets back to a more fitting level of competition in this one.

After impressing in his UFC debut—a victory over Seth Petruzelli at UFC 121—Romero lasted just 21 seconds in his most recent outing. Kyle Kingsbury planted him with a huge right hand at UFC 126, and now Romero, like Te Huna, is in need of a bounce back performance.

Both have pretty good hands, so it’s all going to come down to who controls things from top position on the ground or against the cage. Romero has shown some solid jiu-jitsu in the past, and could find a submission if he is able to work from the top. Te Huna is more of a “grind you out, ground and pound” kind of guy, so it will be an interesting struggle to see who dictates the terms of this fight.

Takeya Mizugaki (14-6-2) vs. Cole Escovedo (17-7)

A bantamweight battle between two guys trying to maintain their employment and make more of a statement than either has to date.

Mizugaki has exhausted all the praise he earned for stepping in late against then-champion Miguel Torres and testing him back at WEC 40 more than two years ago. He’s still a very durable and very game opponent, especially against lower level opposition, but the thoughts on him as a challenge in the 135-pound ranks have dissipated.

After being out-gunned in his UFC debut against Renan Barao, Escovedo gets a second kick at the can against a more suitable opponent. “The Apache Kid” has had some very good moments in the cage over his career—like this headkick KO of Yoshiro Maeda at DREAM 13—but he’s also battled injuries, illness, and inconsistency.

Both fighters need to deliver in this one. Escovedo is the more well-rounded striker, but Mizugaki has the advantage in the clinch. I don’t anticipate a lot of ground work in this one, as both prefer to use their striking, so we could get a good stand-and-bang battle early.

Junior Assuncao (12-4) vs. Eddie Yagin (15-4-1)

Assuncao returns to the UFC for the first time in four years, riding a six-fight winning streak. While there aren’t any real meaningful names in his recent list of conquests—TUF 9 alum Mark Miller is the only notable foe—Assuncao comes from a family of fighters, and is a very good ground technician.

Not many people know Eddie Yagin, but he’s a nice little addition to the featherweight ranks. He dominated former Bellator bantamweight champion Joe Soto last month to claim the Tachi Palace Fighting featherweight title, and gives up the gold to make his UFC debut.

Yagin is the more explosive of the two, with better striking and solid ground game, though I doubt he wants to wade into those waters with the BJJ black belt Assuncao. If they stand, give the edge to Yagin, but on the canvas, Assuncao has the pedigree to put him away.

Nick Ring (12-0) vs. Tim Boetsch (13-4)

I honestly have no idea why more people aren’t excited about this fight. This is my Under the Radar fight for UFC 135 over at Heavy MMA, and a bout I think establishes the winner as someone to watch in the middleweight division in 2012.

Ring bounced back from a controversial debut win to dominate James Head at UFC 131 back in June. He showed very good power on the ground and better wrestling/control than I had expected.

It’s honestly a wonder to me how Ring can be undefeated and coming off TUF 11 where he was one of the favourites, yet very few people are talking about him in the shallow talent pool that is the UFC’s 185-pound division.

Boetsch debuted at middleweight against Kendall Grove at UFC 130, and manhandled the Hawaiian en route to a unanimous decision win. Now that he’s comfortable with the weight cut, I expect “The Barbarian” to be even better the second time around. He’s not great at anything, but is very good at using his size and strength well, and sometimes that is enough.

This should be a very good fight to get things going on Spike TV.

Tony Ferguson (11-2) vs. Aaron Riley (30-12-1)

These are the kinds of fights I love for TUF winners right out of the gate.

Riley is a grizzled veteran who trains with Team Jackson in Albuquerque. He’s been in the cage with some quality opponents over the years, and there isn’t much anyone can offer that he hasn’t seen before. He is the quintessential “Welcome Wagon” opponent for TUF 13 winner Ferguson.

“El Cucuy” (it means Boogeyman) won the last season of The Ultimate Fighter by knocking out Ramsey Nijem in the finals. They fought at welterweight on the show, but Ferguson has now made the move down in weight, as have several others from TUF 13.

He showed solid hands throughout last season and a decent wrestling game that sets up his hands nicely. Working with his coach Brock Lesnar and the team at the DeathClutch facility in Minnesota is a definite positive.

This will really come down to how well prepared Ferguson is and how much he’s able to mix things up in terms of using his hands and wrestling. Riley will be ready for anything and has the ability to halt Ferguson’s progress before it even gets started, so it’s on the TUF winner to come out and impress.

Check out Keyboard Kimura tomorrow for a look at the five fights on the UFC 135 main card.

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